Happy Valley man's deportation case becomes national organization's fight to keep him in U.S.

The Rev. Peter Johnson speaks to KATU news outside the Clackamas County Courthouse after trying to advocate to the district attorney's office and a circuit court judge for the release of Edson Barrera Gonzalez, a 20-year-old Happy Valley man who faces deportation. His parents, Barbara and Dagoberto Gonzalez, wait on a bench.
Molly Harbarger

A coalition of immigration advocates, including a Milwaukie man whose sudden deportation case caught attention in 2010, converged on Clackamas County Monday to try to stop the deportation of a 20-year-old Happy Valley man.

Edson Barrera Gonzalez, then a 19-year-old employee at Macy's department store, was arrested last year for giving unauthorized discounts and ringing up false returns to benefit his parents, whom, he said, were struggling financially.

He pleaded guilty to first-degree theft, a felony, although under the terms of a plea agreement, his crime would be reduced to a misdemeanor once he paid back $1,526 and served 10 days in jail and two years on probation.

However, his felony conviction triggered deportation proceedings before he could meet the requirements to reduce his conviction to a misdemeanor. Gonzalez and his family have since paid restitution, and his advocates contend that he never should have been treated as a felon.

Edson Barrera Gonzalez before his arrest.Isenberg Center for Immigration Empowerment

Gonzalez illegally immigrated with his family at the age of 6 from Mexico to the United States. Instead of 10 days in Clackamas County Jail, he has spent the last year detained in a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Tacoma, Wash.

On Monday, Gonzalez, with the help of a Texas-based immigration advocate, filed a motion asking to be placed on "bench probation," which means he reports to the court for his probation rather than the Clackamas County Probation Department. Once under the court's jurisdiction, a judge could reduce his sentence to a misdemeanor and keep him from immediate deportation. It is the latest maneuver in a series to keep him in the country.

Also Monday, the Rev. Peter Johnson, who worked with Martin Luther King Jr., flew to Portland from Dallas for "a mission of mercy," as he calls it. He met with the district attorney's office and scheduled a meeting with Clackamas County Circuit Judge Thomas Rastetter to persuade them to agree to the motion.

"If you deport this child to Mexico, that is a death sentence," Johnson said.

Because Gonzalez grew up in the United States, his advocates believe deporting him could put him in danger. The plan to save Gonzalez is coordinated by Ralph Isenberg, a Dallas-based real estate developer who began intervening in deportation cases after his wife's immigration problems. He started the Isenberg Center for Immigration Empowerment to fight deportations, especially those that break up families. Isenberg's organization has fought more than 150 cases, most involving children losing parents. "We're like the emergency room of immigration law," Isenberg said.

"There's a million setbacks to make one step forward," Lopez said. "It's difficult when you don't know when you're leaving or where you're going."

Hector Lopez (right), a 22-year-old Milwaukie resident, is helping Barbara and Dagoberto Gonzalez keep their son from deportation. Lopez was deported at 20 years old, but the organization who is helping the Gonzalez's, helped him get back. The Gonzalez's don't speak much English, so he is helping translate and chaffeur them to the Clackamas County Courthouse. Molly Harbarger

Lopez's mother put the Gonzalezes, who live in Happy Valley, in touch with Isenberg when she heard their story. He wanted to help out of disgust for what he called the poor legal advice they received. When he called Macy's, an executive there wrote a letter saying they wouldn't have pressed for a felony, but the court-appointed attorney never asked if they'd settle. Another attorney also suggested a scheme where Gonzalez would falsely claim he was gay to win asylum.

"The attorneys did not know immigration law and how to use it properly," Isenberg said.

If Gonzalez's conviction is downgraded to a misdemeanor, he could resume classes at Clackamas Community College and become eligible for the new White House "deferred action" rule. It grants two years of safety for students under 30 who immigrated before they were 16 years old, and haven't committed a felony.

In the meantime, Isenberg and his staff call both Gonzalez and his parents every day to comfort them and keep them informed. He recruited Lopez to help with translation and because Barbara Gonzalez is suffering bouts of depression.

"This is what I call saving starfish," Isenberg said. "We just throw everything we've got at this one case and we expect to win. We don't like losing."